A tac captain can tank pretty well in a Cruiser with the right Boff and console setup. You just lack some of the Capitan skills that an engineer would have. What you loose, you gain in other skills that help with damage. Some players have said they tac/Escort and eng/cruiser is too one side and they enjoy tac/cruiser or eng/escort more. Depends on you plays style in the end.

A tac captain can tank pretty well in a Cruiser with the right Boff and console setup. You just lack some of the Capitan skills that an engineer would have. What you loose, you gain in other skills that help with damage. Some players have said they tac/Escort and eng/cruiser is too one side and they enjoy tac/cruiser or eng/escort more. Depends on you plays style in the end.

Try an engineer alt and see if you enjoy it.

I enjoy my tact/cruiser so far. But I am only 27 and I haven't really done any group stuff much. As for an although, I am f2p, so no real extra slot other than a Klingon ATM. I guess I could try it, but I'd rather play fed.

Then what should I gear for tanking? I mean what type of weapons and such.

I mean for space, ground I wouldn't mind dpsing as I have noticed I am too squishy for ground combat tanking.

Sto is a very different game, there isn't any tanks, like in traditional MMOs.
But as a general rule of thumb, if there had to be tanks Engineers are the best survivability wise. Tac are dps related, sci is shield heals and crowd control.

But Stos mechanic is different, as any captain can fly any ship.
A Tac can fly a cruiser or even a carrier just won't be as tough as an engineer doing it, just like a sci can fly an escort but arguably won't do as much dps as the Tac.

Sto is a very different game, there isn't any tanks, like in traditional MMOs.
But as a general rule of thumb, if there had to be tanks Engineers are the best survivability wise. Tac are dps related, sci is shield heals and crowd control.

But Stos mechanic is different, as any captain can fly any ship.
A Tac can fly a cruiser or even a carrier just won't be as tough as an engineer doing it, just like a sci can fly an escort but arguably won't do as much dps as the Tac.

No, not a troll. Just new to the game is all. Still learning how it all works.

As to the rest of your post, how then does group space combat work? Just coordinate for focus fire? Who then takes the other ships to keep them from smashing on the escorts as they are weaker in the survivability dep?

No, not a troll. Just new to the game is all. Still learning how it all works.

As to the rest of your post, how then does group space combat work? Just coordinate for focus fire? Who then takes the other ships to keep them from smashing on the escorts as they are weaker in the survivability dep?

It really depends on who you're playing with and the scenario, but group space combat in STO isn't about finding a role and sticking to it (because the class differences are fairly diluted) but making the most of whatever team composition you find yourself in, particularly the public STFs.

The most important thing about any given group action is knowing how best to use YOUR ship, and then playing to the most effective strategy for a given mission.

For example, it's more important in Infected Space Elite to stick to the "10% rule" and to keep tabs on the Nanite Spheres than it is for a Cruiser to insist on tanking or an SV to insist on healing or whatever.

STO space combat in STFs is heavily biased towards DPS, so everyone is expected to contribute to killing everything as quickly as possible (and of course sticking to the mission plan). Secondary roles like tanking and healing are, well, secondary, though no one will be mad at you for throwing on the occasional heal or assist.

Things are slightly different in Fleet Actions like No Win Scenario and Starbase defense, which bring in squishy civilian targets to protect and heal. Cruisers and other "support" ships can come into their own in those circumstances, where Escorts and Glass Cannons might not survive the fray long enough to contribute.

Ground Combat and missions are a different story, since the class differences are much more well-defined and the MMO trinity is largely in effect.

It really depends on who you're playing with and the scenario, but group space combat in STO isn't about finding a role and sticking to it (because the class differences are fairly diluted) but making the most of whatever team composition you find yourself in, particularly the public STFs.

The most important thing about any given group action is knowing how best to use YOUR ship, and then playing to the most effective strategy for a given mission.

For example, it's more important in Infected Space Elite to stick to the "10% rule" and to keep tabs on the Nanite Spheres than it is for a Cruiser to insist on tanking or an SV to insist on healing or whatever.

STO space combat in STFs is heavily biased towards DPS, so everyone is expected to contribute to killing everything as quickly as possible (and of course sticking to the mission plan). Secondary roles like tanking and healing are, well, secondary, though no one will be mad at you for throwing on the occasional heal or assist.

Things are slightly different in Fleet Actions like No Win Scenario and Starbase defense, which bring in squishy civilian targets to protect and heal. Cruisers and other "support" ships can come into their own in those circumstances, where Escorts and Glass Cannons might not survive the fray long enough to contribute.

Ground Combat and missions are a different story, since the class differences are much more well-defined and the MMO trinity is largely in effect.

So what you are basically saying is that space combat is more about everyone doing their own thing while sticking to mission parameters, helping each other as needed?

So what you are basically saying is that space combat is more about everyone doing their own thing while sticking to mission parameters, helping each other as needed?

Coming from an Engi cruiser captain, yes. For the most part, tanks are not required in this game. Most ships can do exactly what is needed tanking wise, and dedicated pure tanks are a waste of a ship, since end-game content is almost exclusively a DPS race.